Some kind of Harmony
by EnnieIs
Summary: Snapping Walkers and a broody woman, what more do you need during the end of the world? Swearing and interesting situations to come! (DarylXOC)
1. Chapter 1: How to hang your Walker

**A/N: Hello guys! I haven't written in -ages- and after reading way too much fanfiction about TWD (let's go, more of season 3 please!) I decided it was high time to write something of my own again. I'm so inlove with the show and I hope that I can make it some justice. I took some liberty in changing the story to fit my liking, and I wanted Jenner to get some cred, he never was portrayed as very badass, with the whole walker-part. You'll see. It made perfect sense to me at the time, honest!**

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_Disclaimer: I own the Walking Dead. It's all mine. Obviously._

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They hung from the ceiling, flailing about like fish on dry land - snapping at her with their mouths. The ropes were thick and sturdy, keeping the freshly made walkers off ground and at a safe distance. She wasn't stupid enough to walk up to them, not by any means, she mused as she crossed her arms over her chest, pressing her rifle against her tightly. The sight was grotesque, but there was no looking away. Three weeks ago she would have hurled at the sight of what was infront of her, but not now. She was the one who roped them up and hung them there in the first place and she would be there when it was time to put what was left of them down. It made it easier not to think about them as people anymore, not 'him' or 'her'. They had gone past that at this point, evolving into these mindless creatures. She snorted as one of them grabbed the walker closest to it and managed to wring itself about, it's body tearing off from it's head, leaving one to slump down in a useless pile and the other to roll towards her, still snapping away with rotting teeth.

She let out a loud groan, which only seemed to encourage the remaining six to keep moving around, staring at her with big, dead eyes. She gave them a glare back and blew the few loose strands of hair away from her face, giving the head a swift kick away from her and into a corner of the bathroom, making her swear at the 'god-ridden flesheating bag of fleas'. The stench from the bodies hanging, and now lying on the formerly spotless white tile flooring, was unbelievable. What she suspected was blood and puss very slowly oozed out of the newly fallen body and she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, her eyes tearing up somewhat. Deciding to leave them to their struggle to get down, with the hissing of all seven heads echoing behind her, she exited the bathroom, putting the chain and lock back on the door. Out of all the bathrooms in the world, they'd chased her down there.

The corridors of the 'Center for Disease Control and Prevention' HQ were empty now. No more chatter coming from the kitchen, no more loud snores out of the bedrooms. No more sound of water pouring out in the showers. No more laughter. This was her life now, she thought as she leaned forward, gathering all of her long and messy black hair into a bun, letting a few stray strands of hair do as they please and frame her face. Her own room was just a few seconds away, and although she had the choice to up and move to any free room she wanted, this was hers. It had been from the start, and she wasn't gonna leave due to some dead guys moaning down the hall. She quickly made her way down and slammed open - sprinting through the bedroom and entering the bathroom and letting the water run from the tap. "Atleast that's something." she murmured and splashed the cold water all over her face, grimacing at the sound of her own voice echoing in the tiny space. Atleast this one smelled fresh and had less dead people in it.

She stared at her reflection and was met by tired grey eyes that seemed way too big for her now thin and fragile-looking face, followed by a tiny button nose and a set of full lips, also seemingly unfitting her current build. She was worn down. Once she had more curves then a country road, but now she had issues getting her clothes to stay on. They had food, plenty of food for the two of them, now that everyone had gone and offed themselves, so that wasnt the issue. She stuck her tongue out to the reflection and ran her fingers under her eyes, sighing at the dark sacks that had formed underneath them. She needed to get a grip. Turning off the water she clutched her standard-issue M16 to her chest and walked out of the living quarters, following the corridor to the kitchen, where she could smell food cooking. Maybe she could eat today.

Dr. Edwin Jenner stood in the kitchen, the mix of determination and despair plastered on his face as he plopped two bowls ontop of the table. The whole room smelled sterile- clean, with just a hint of spices from the rice and chicken he had presented her. She nodded in greeting and he smiled faintly towards her before eating as she absent mindedly poked away at the food infront of her. He finished his meal and leaned on the table, resting his chin on his cupped hands and observed her as she slowly began eating, rifle still hanging from her back. After a long moment of silence he spoke up, almost making her jump out of her seat.

"How's the.." he paused awkwardly as she flinched and waited for her to get over the initial shock of him speaking before continuing.

"How's the hangers doing in the bathroom?"

Normally he would have gathered the walkers sooner, the whole hanging was a snap decision to keep them in place and out of harms way, but being the lone doctor left in the CDC meant that he had alot on his plate and he was determined to find a cure so they could leave. She gave him a nod and swallowed a couple of times before answering.

"Six are still hanging, one broke apart, as expected. Body's in the middle of the room, head somewhere in the corner. Fucker came rolling at me, had to point it in another direction."

She smiled innocently when he raised an eyebrow inquisitively at her. Okay, that was an understatement, she hadn't been gentle at all when she kicked the head away from her, but what did it all matter in the end? He didn't need to know. Not that he wouldn't find out. She didn't want to justify her moment of anger to him out of all people. He'd lost more than she had. He shook it off and took her almost empty bowl, obviously pleased that she had managed to eat something, stacked it with his own and put them in the sink.

"Let's go get our samples then, shall we. I'll go get the cart." He said and took his leave. She had no chance to argue that they didn't need them, that it was too late. He wouldn't give her one to start with, and she figured that she wouldn't push it. He didnt want to enter the laboratory only to dispose of his beloved wifes body, now that he couldn't extract anymore samples out of her. The noise of the cart rolling into the kitchen and the sound of Doctor Jenner calling our her name made her snap back to reality and she came to her feet - following him to the 'living' samples.

They spent the next few hours rounding up and restraining the hangers and theloose head, trying to keep them as intact as possible. There was no way to see how the reanimation worked on these ones, but they would do for testing the prototypes of the cure they'd managed to work out. Before they killed themselves, that is. They had been locked up in one of the rooms by the end of the corridor. They had worked with the doctor and they had been nice and friendly, always treating her nicely and joking around with her. A few days after they'd killed themselves she had opened the door, to dispose of the bodies. But she couldn't and they chased her down, pinned her inside the bathroom when the doctor, armed with nothing but thick rope managed to slip nooses around their necks and one by one pull them off their feet, over the plumming in the ceiling and securing it around the porclain toilet. The image made her roll her eyes as they walked to the laboratory where the doctor would have to do the rest. She was not by any means allowed into the room, nor was she allowed to assist in any other way. She wasn't one of the doctors, nor the lab-rats. It was her fourth week of internship. What would have been the last, if the world had not decided to suddenly fall apart.

The tests, to neither of their surprise, was not conclusive or helpful to the research in any way. But it distracted the doctor long enough for his hesitance of getting rid of his wifes body to pass. That was what he told her, as he continued his research on his own. She was simply there to put a bullet in his head, should he get contaminated. Because, as she was told when the alarms rang and the discovery of the virus had been made, if you want to stay in the CDC, you don't get to leave. She weighed the weapon in her hands and groaned as she glanced into the lab. Killing the dead was one thing, but killing the living was another.

The doctor looked busy enough, frantically running around with his ridiculous hazard-suit, back and forth, back and forth, into the shower, out of the lab and then the world came to a standstill for the two seconds it took for her to process that this was probably bad. Very bad. An explosion confirmed her thought and she looked at the doctor, puzzled, as he cussed at the door and hurridly stormed away from the location. 'That was the one!' she could hear him yell down the hallway, over and over again. She rolled her eyes once again and sighed. Today was a good day.

Sleeping was hard, this far under ground. She missed daylight something fierce. Her skin had became pale during the month she had spent down here and she hated it. She missed the wind. And grass. Oh, how she missed feeling the soft tickle of grass under her feet on a summers day. She hugged her pillow and buried her face in it, her rifle resting on the bedside table next to her. Gently, she hummed to herself, soothed by the faint echo of her own voice bouncing between the dark walls in the safety of her own room. Sleep came slowly, but for once, it lasted the whole night through.

When she woke, she threw on a tanktop and pulled a far too large hoodie over her head, followed by a black pair of leggings. She hung the strap of the rifle around her neck and let it slide down and settle between her breasts, hanging securely on her side. Slowly she made her way to the kitchen, which seemed empty. She had no idea if it was morning or mid-day, time didn't matter down in the CDC anymore. Picking up the last apple from the counter, she bit into it and walked in the direction of the computer lab, where the doctor sat - staring at the images caught by a security camera at the entrance to the building. People. Living people. She gasped and he turned around, scared by the sudden sound.

Her eyes met his. "Who are they?" she asked and furrowed her brow. He shrugged in response and didnt pay any more attention to the screen. She walked closer and caught the noise of a man shouting at the camera. "They're alive." she observed and the doctor grunted in her general direction. The desperate cries kept coming from the monitor and she glared at him. "She would have wanted you to." she said and bit down on the apple again, half-sitting and half-leaning against the workstation. He pulled his hair and grunted again. She managed to slip out of the rifle's strap and handed it to him. That was apparently all the encouragement he needed as he bolted towards the door, his labcloak moving in the 'wind'.

"Go get 'em, Doctor E!" she shouted after him and threw away her apple, brushing her hands off on her hoodie and taking a seat in the doctors chair, keeping her eyes on the monitor and listening to Vi's response to all of his commands. He was going to let them in. He was going to save them. Her eyes moved to the down-ticking counter next to the huge screen on the wall. _For now._

There was more of them than she had thought. Two children, Sophia and Carl whose names she actually managed to remember, aswell as ten adults, more or less. The leader seemed to be an officer of the law named Rick, but the rest of their names turned into a big blur after introduction after introduction and bloodtest after bloodtest. She also remembered a man that called himself T-dog, mainly because it was shocking enough to make her burst out laughing as they shook hands.

"No disrespect!" she said when she came up for air again, "I don't meet many people by the name of T-dog these days!" They all joined in and snickered , most of them anyway. The little girl, Sophia, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside, looking very worried. Apparently they had been through hell to get here and she wanted to know if she could feel safe, something she assured her they would be. _For now._

Doctor Jenner made a formal introduction of himself and showed them around, giving them all the food, booze and entertainment they wanted. Today, they'd be able to settle in. The ugly truth would come out sooner or later, but she preferred later. As they sat around the table, the whole lot of them, talking and smiling and sharing warstories, they suddently turned to her and almost in unison, tilted their heads. With one voice, Rick spoke for the group. "And you? I'm sorry, we never caught your name."

She made a small 'oh' sound and grinned at the people all looking at her with big eyes.

"It's Rebecka Torres. Becka will be fine." They all nodded politely in her direction, except for one dirty looking son'ova'bitch. He mostly shot her a dirty look and then scowled, refusing to meet her gaze.


	2. Chapter 2: Soon

**A/N: I'll just upload chapter after chapter at this point, I wanted to finish up the CDC and get onwards to the good stuff.**

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_Disclaimer: I totally own the Walking Dead. Obviously. Mine._  
_And I totally own "Soon" from Thumbelina. That too. Mine._

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The whole kitchen smelled like alcohol and dirt by the time the newcommers waddled towards the showers and the livingarea. After pointing out which room was taken and which bathroom shouldn't be entered, they all settled in without any major problems. Rebecka was happy to finally have some company besides Doctor Jenner, but the circumstances could have been better, she told herself and quickly scolded herself for enjoying the casual chatter ongoing in the corridor once again.

The familiar sound of the showers running and the several pleased groans from the group made her feel like the world maybe had stopped going under, for just one night. She happily let her hair fall out of her bun and ran her fingers through it as she walked down towards her room, waving to the people with their doors still open as she passed by. The night was still young, and being in an unusually good mood she kept her door open, if anyone should decide they wanted to talk to the young woman before they all passed out.

It didn't take long before the leader of the pack, Rick, showed up at her door, bowing his head in a brief nod and offering her a heartwarming smile. "Just wanted to give you my thanks, Doctor Torres." Rebecka snorted and Rick looked at her and waited for her to explain and she quickly retorted that she was infact not a doctor, simply a student on an internship. They got into a discussion about which school she was attending and what she was studying that managed to get her into this place. Man, it had never felt better to actually talk to another human being. That wasnt fixated on cutting the living dead up and curing the world of this disease, that is.

"Nurse, huh?" Rick said and grinned towards her. "Bet you had to pull some impressive strings to get in here."

Rebecka sighed and started twirling her hair between two fingers. "My dad insisted, he's in military. He.." She paused and grimaced.

"We all lost people, Rebecka."

"Becka. Please."

"We all lost people, Becka."

She smiled faintly and shrugged. "Worst part is that I don't know if he is alive or not, out there. I don't know if I'll ever see him again." Just as she said that, Rick's son Carl appeared in the door and she waved him in aswell. The redness had since long faded from Rick's cheeks and he wasn't as drunk as he thought anymore. Carl curled up next to his daddy and they continued talking about Becka's school-life and how important family is, almost forgetting that the outside world was breaking apart.

"And what do you want to be when you grow up, Carl?" She said and grinned towards the young boy who started rubbing his eyes, the fact that it was well past midnight didnt phase Rick and his woman, Lori, came running and dragged her son to bed before he could answer, almost half asleep.

"He wants to be a cop, just like his daddy." Rick exclaimed and smiled towards her, getting to his feet. "I guess it's about time to get some shut-eye. It was nice talkin' to you ma'am. And thank you." He added and nodded towards her. She nodded right back at him, feeling at peace with the decision they had made to let these strangers into their temporary safe haven. She frowned a bit, knowing that they would probably resent her and the doctor when they found out what that clock was ticking down to, but it was better like this. Atleast the children didn't have to suffer, this way.

Deep in thought, she started pulling off her leggings, the hoodie and tanktop following shortly thereafter. So deep in thought she'd completely forgotten to close the door to her room. So deep in thought she managed not to notice her growing audience. T-dog and Glenn watched her change, both staring with their mouths open and when she spun around, in all her glory, she could not help but to let out a 'meep' as the two men burst out laughing. Glenn became redder then he already was, due to the vast amount of alcohol he had managed to get his hands on, and they both bolted from the scene. Becka pulled her oversized sleeping t-shirt over her head and stuck her head out the door. She could see both of them snickering four doors down and she decided that a smack on the head probably would be the right way to treat this. She jogged down towards them, not being noticed until she was one door away when she crashed into something and suddently came to a stop.

Something turned out to be someone. He was taller then she thought when she first saw him, the dirty and scowling redneck. She managed to slam her head into his chin, making him push her far away, sending her flying to the ground.

"Watch yerself _Amigo_, god'dam'it!" he exclaimed and brushed himself off. Becka pushed herself to her feet and rubber her butt, groaning and not paying any attention to the slightly rude tone of his voice. She murmured a sorry and bowed her head slightly, trying to slip by him without touching him. However, as her balance was being somewhat questioned that very night, she brushed his arm with hers as she passed by, earning a snort and a: "Friggin' _Cham_."

This however made Becka flinch. "Excuse me?"

"Ya hearin's bad too?"

She turned and faced him, raising a brow and folding her arms, making her chest heave slightly as she took a deep breathe. "What did you call me?"

Daryl smirked and copied her stance. "Don' go all _latrino _on me,_ border hoppin', cherry pickin', chili-shitt-_"

He would have kept going if Becka had not decided that this was the best time to draw her leg back and kick him, straight in the groin. Her kick did not land, as he side-stepped her quickly and took a hold of her shirt, pushing her up against the wall. "Ya best watch yerself, _Goya_, I ain' intendin' on playin' nice witcha."

"Yo, Daryl, just quit it, they let us in and sav-" T-dog stepped in and put a hand on Daryl's shoulder, making him drop Becka.

"Git your dirty hands off me, ni-"

Before he could finish his sentance, Becka slapped him across the face, glaring at him. She couldn't believe the level of unprovoked ass-hattery was coming out of the redneck. She walked into him, okay, big deal. She brushed against him on the way past - and she gets insulted? Her good mood gone, she turned on her heel and walked into her room, slamming the door behind her - hard. Suddenly, she didn't feel so bad about not telling them what the clock was ticking down to. They'd have to wait and see. She rubbed her sore butt again and whinced. "Jesus." She cried out and threw herself on the bed, cuddeling up to her pillow, just like the night before.

Not being able to fall asleep due to the faint chatter coming from the still awake and still rather drunk men, Becka sat up again, hugging her legs. She stared at the dark walls around her, softly raising her voice and singing to herself - probably echoing out into the hallway, but she didn't care. Not anymore. Over and over again, feeling like the only person in the world, she let go. Her american mother, probably gone. Her hispanic father, probably also gone. She was happy she didn't have any siblings, that she was the last of her family to suffer through this, and that it all would be over, soon.

"_I know there's someone, somewhere._

_Someone who's sure to find me, soon._

_After the rain goes, there are rainbows. _

_I'll find my rainbow, soon._

_Soon it won't be just pretend,_

_soon, a happy ending._

_Love, can you hear me,_

_if you're near me -_

_sing your song,_

_sure and strong -_

_and soon."_

The chatter got quieter the more she sang to herself, children clinging to their mother and drunken men and women slowly lulled into sleep. Except for one man, standing outside her door, fist on the door - hesitant to knock. Daryl came to her, ready to apologize, but it sounded like she was in no mood to listen to his half-assed apology. Maybe the morning would be better, he murmured to himself. Rick would be pissed once he heard about Daryl's little snap at the _chica_, but he could feel that something was fishy about this place.

Soon enough, even Becka quieted down and managed to sleep. What she still wasn't sure was morning came and she got dressed in the same clothes she had worn the day before. When she entered the kitchen, Rick and Glenn was nursing their hangovers while everyone else was happily making conversation, Doctor Jenner serving them eggs for breakfast. They all wolfed down the food like they hadn't eaten in weeks before the question was popped.

"I know I shouldn't be bombarding you with questions the first thing I do in the morni-" The old man, Dale, started and Doctor Jenner quickly cut him off with a smile.

"But you're going to, regardless."

"What's that clock ticking down to?" He asked and glanced towards Daryl. They shared the feeling that the CDC might not be what it seemed and the rest of the group agreed, their curiosity now taking over. Doctor Jenner sighed slightly and then motioned everyone to follow him into the computer lab. Becka followed at a distance, only to have Glenn and T-dog wait for her.

"You sang yesterday, to shut us up." T-dog said and ruffled her hair, still hanging free down her shoulders. She nodded and grinned, half-heartedly.

"It was nice." Glenn added and smiled towards her. Her heart broke a little. They were decent people, with a little exception. This was gonna be hell. She knew that Jenner would tell them what they needed to know. They couldn't have more then an hour anyways, so why should he keep it a secret.

Doctor Jenner played them the tape of the reanimation, explained it, and soon enough they asked more questions, which lead to more questions, which lead to anger. Becka kept in the back, leaning and halfsitting against the little surface there was for jotting down notes and folded her arms, a worried frown on her face. What were they gonna do when they found out. How would they react. Should she had kept her rifle on her.

Soon enough she was jolted out of her thoughts by Dale asking once again, what the clock is counting down to.

"When that hits zero, we wont have any power left. Im sure you all noticed how the lights went off and the airconditioning stopped yesterday evening."

Another man, whose name had slipped Beckas mind cried out to the doctor. "You said it was just a power-surge! There must be something we can run the generators on!" People nodded and started pacing back and forth.

Dale, being the only sensible person in the group, asked once again. "What happens when we have no power left?".

Becka closed her eyes. The explanation to what would happen when we ran out of power wasn't pretty, but Becka had heard it many times before. H. . Air set on fire. Bam, insta-death. "No pain, an end to sorrow, grief, regret. Everything." She mouthed along as Doctor Jenner told the group. This resulted in the redneck and what appeared to be Shane lunging out towards Jenner, the second the door sealed off the room.

"But we don't want this!" Rick's wife, Lori, cried out, hugging Carl to her.

Doctor Jenner flinched and slammed his fists in the table, taking a stand, knocking his chair over and screaming to the panicking group of people. "Do you know what this place is?! We protected the public from some -very- nasty stuff! Weaponized small pox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you dont want getting out, ever!"

"So you're gonna lock us up to die." Dale said gently. The blond woman and the dark woman both slumped to the ground. Sophia was clinging to her mother. The look on their faces broke Beckas heart all over again. Every look. Every sob.

Daryl's voice reached her ears and he turned the attention to her. "The _taco _knew abou' this. They both did. An' now they did done us in." He spat on the ground in her direction and she closed her eyes again.

"That was the deal. There's no getting out." She said weakly, amazed that these people wanted to go back out there, and fight to live. It'd be better if they'd just give up, but they refused to.

Becka opened her eyes and glanced at Doctor Jenner, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Edwin. Let them. Please. They're still alive. They get to choose how they die."

The men stood and wacked away at the door when Doctor Jenner turned his key and unlocked it, leaving it open. The blonde woman and the dark woman, however, did not move. Dale walked up to the blonde one and after many whispers he sat himself down beside her, looking determined as all hell.

Becka cringed as they started moving and running towards the door, screaming for the rest to move along. Jenner grabbed Rick and pulled him to him, whispering the dark secret of the CDC to him. Rick gave him a glance and squeezed his shoulders before joining his wife and son in fleeing the supposed safe-haven. T-dog and Glenn both cried out Becka's name but she just shook her head and waved them goodbye. Sophia managed to get out of her mother's grip and threw herself at Becka, crying for her to come with.

She glanced at Jenner who simply nodded at her. He didn't care anymore. But she did. She took Sophia's hand and pulled her towards the door, less than three minutes remaining on the clock. The dark woman, Dale and the blonde woman remained downstairs when they made it up and out the CDC. Becka figured them long dead, but before the blast went off, the blonde one and Dale came running out the broken window, throwing themselves down on the ground for cover as the building took fire and exploded, falling down on itself.

"What's this _leafblower_ got comin' with us anywho!" Daryl groaned as soon as he spotted her long dark hair among their own. She gave him a glare and he just smirked in response. She turned to Lori and Rick, who quickly looked away and carried on with their own business, getting what they had into the cars and loading up, ready to move on again. Becka twisted her hair into a bun and whimpered. Maybe she should have stayed down, afterall. What was she thinking, letting a small child change her mind enough to not want the only painfree death she could imagine right now.

"Get a grip, Becka." She murmured to herself and cuddled up in her hoodie, getting a smile from Sophia. Her heart softened and she returned the smile, only to have Sophia pulled out of sight by her mother, Carol. Everyone turned away from her, not saying a word, before Dale waddled up to her like old men do and gave her a friendly squeeze on the shoulder.

"You can ride in the old RV with me, Andrea and Glenn if you'd like. There's plenty of room for you." He said and smiled. She just blinked and followed him into the car, sitting down at the table, opposite of Glenn.

"I'm sorry."

Glenn answered immediately. "You should be."

Becka sighed and rested her forehead against the cold table, and Glenn continued. "You scared the shit out of us, we thought you was gonna stay down there." She raised her head and looked at him. He just smiled at her.

Becka rubbed her eyes and shook her head before she would start bawling. These people, with the exception of a certain douchebag, treated her like one of them, despite what she had kept from them. She hugged herself tightly as the RV started moving, looking out at the burning building one last time.


	3. Chapter 3: Road to success

They exited Atlanta that same day, all of them huddled up in different vehicles and Becka had since long given up on her spot back in the RV, with the extremely moody Andrea and Glenn. She climbed up in the frontseat next to Dale, the one person she figured could offer the comfort she was looking for. Mostly because he was just a few years older then her own father. The thought of her father made Becka grimace as she made herself comfortable in her new seat, but Dale didn't seem to notice - all too focused on the road ahead.

"You think everyone is gonna blame me for this much longer?" she asked and rested her head against the window, hearing a snort from Andrea in the back, but choosing to ignore it. Dale chuckled and took one hand off the steering wheel to pat her knee.

"Everyone doesn't blame you for this. You knew about it, sure, but it wasn't your responsibility to tell us. You're just a girl." He quickly glanced over at Becka and winked before turning his attention to the road again. "If you don't mind an old fool asking, how old are you, Becka?"

Rebecka sat up straight and gathered her messy hair in a bun while she answered the sweet old man that she had just turned twenty-five before she got her internship at the CDC. Dale chuckled and spoke a bit louder. "Sorry Glenn, looks like you're still the runt of the family!" Earning an exasperated sigh from the korean boy.

Turning her attention away from herself, she couldn't help but ask Dale where they were going. Her eyes widened in surprise when the answer came quickly and naturally. "Fort Benning."

Fort Benning was an old US Army post outside Columbus, that she knew from what her father had told her about his work. She didn't want to question their decision, she was already on the outside with most people in the group and speaking her mind about this would surely cause more strife. During her weeks underground in the CDC, at the beginning of panic-mode, she had overheard the doctors speaking about Fort Benning, and how none of the civillians were evacuated, because it was supposed to be safe. By this time today, if they made it there, it wouldn't be pretty or safe. Her gut told her that much.

But they didn't get very far along the way before they encountered a blockade of cars. She silently questioned how far they were going to make it before it turned into a dead-end, but the loud pop from the hood of the RV and the smoke that rose answered that for her pretty quickly. Both Dale and Glenn headed out the car and popped the hood, starting to fiddle with hoses and knobs and God knows what. Becka wasn't interested in the anatomy of a car, so she exited the vehicle, only to slam her door open in a certain rednecks smug face.

He let out a muffled and somewhat aggressive grunt and siezed her wrist. "Ya gon' pull more stunts like tha'?" He asked and got all up in her face. She remained silent and stared at him with her big and cold grey eyes. Daryl shivered slightly and let go of her, pushing her away from him. Last thing he needed was some _beanbag_ getting into his head. She nursed her wrist by putting her arm close to her chest and she glared at the back of his head as he walked away. He was dirty. And skinny. And tan. She looked down at her own skin. She looked sick. The month locked up in the CDC, refusing to eat and sleeping poorly had made her more pale than she thought possible.

Once, her skin was tanned and healthy. Once, her clothes didn't almost fall off her body. She promised herself that she would not miss a single meal offered to her from that day on, only so she could manage with what she expected to be hard work in the future. The future. Like they had one. She smiled to herself and listened to Dale and Glenn repairing the vehicle under the burning sun. Thankfully, a slight breeze took most of the heat away and she rolled up the sleeves on her hoodie.

Rick and Shane suggested we start looking for water and food in the cars, some filled with corpses of the permanently dead. T-dog offered to siphon gas and was soon out of sight. Lori, Carol and the kids went one way. Daryl had dissapeared aswell. She stood there, looking at Rick and Shane arguing about safety before she decided that she was going to pull her weight. She continued along the road, until she couldn't hear the barking going on between Rick and his supposed friend. She spotted a truck to her left that was corpse-free and opened the door.

In the front seat there was a suitcase and a semi-automatic pistol, without bullets. She took the gun and put it in the huge pocket on the front of her hoodie and dragged the suitcase out, making it land on the ground with a loud thump. Quickly, she stood up and peeked around, finding herself to be alone. She unzipped it and revealed women's clothing in what looked to be an appropriate size for the ladies in the group. She pulled out a pair of jeans shorts and after a seconds thought, she pulled them over her leggings. They fit okay, only sliding down her butt slightly as she moved while dragging the suitcase to the back of the car before slowly opening the door in the back.

She retreated slightly at the sight infront of her and put a hand over her mouth. What she had figured to be a corpse-free car apparently had one lonely inhabitant, namely a cat in it's cage, in the far corner of the backseat. How she avoided the smell before shocked her and she gagged when she reached into the car to pull out the only bag left inside. Inside the bag was two cans of beans, which made her roll her eyes. Great, proof to Daryl that she was a beanbag. "Stupid hick" she muttered to herself as she took the two cans and stuffed them in the suitcase before closing the door and turning around.

"Say whut now?"

She blinked at the sight of the rugged man standing infront of her and shook her head. She wasn't going to fight with him and she sure as hell wasn't going to stand there and make casual conversation either. She bent over and pulled on the handle of the suitcase, trying to roll and make it follow her as she took a few steps away from him and the car, wanting to head back in the direction of the RV.

"Ya retarded or sumthin'?" he asked and slapped her hand off the handle, pushing it back in before he lifted it up and carried it. She shrugged in response and took a few steps away from him, bumping into another car.

"Fuck!" He cried out and grabbed her wrist with his free hand, pulling her to him before pushing her down to the ground. "That's right!" she retorted "What the fuck, Daryl?"

He motioned far down the road and that's when she saw them. Walkers. A metric butt-ton of them. All slowly making their way up the road towards them. She let out a terrified 'meep' and allowed herself to be pushed down further. He motioned for her to roll under the car and she quickly did what he asked, pulling the suitcase under with her. Daryl gave her a nod and then got to his feet, ready to sprint away. In the heat of the moment she grabbed his foot, almost crawling back out from under the car.

"Where are you going?" She blinked at him with her big grey eyes and he bent over to free himself. He hissed at her, saying that he was going to go make sure the rest of the group was alright. She felt the panic rising, ofcourse he wasn't going to stay with her, he didn't seem to like her very much. When her eyes watered up his angry face seemed to relax slightly and he knelt down beside her, pushing her under the car again.

"Listen close, girl. If you stay 'ere and shut the 'ell up, I'll be back to get'cha. Don't be an idiot, _nacho_, stay 'ere."

She nodded and pulled her arms back, hugging herself close and closing her eyes. Before she knew it, Daryl was gone and she was alone, far away from everyone else. If the walkers noticed her, she would die. She did not dare to move a muscle, let alone breathe as the slow dragging of feet closed up on her.

The walkers surrounded her on all sides of the car, luckily not paying any attention to her as they continued up the road. There must have been hundreds of them, all moving together. The gnarling of their rotting teeth and low growling at eachother didn't stop for several minutes and Becka didn't dare to roll out from the car, even when silence fell upon the highway. She counted to a hundred before she opened her eyes and peeked to both her left and right. A pair of legs were still standing next to her hidingspot and she gasped for air.

The sudden sound must have been heard by whatever it was standing next to her, because it started shuffeling about, obviously looking for the source of whatever made the sound. Two seconds later it was on the ground, reaching it's hands in under the car, grabbing after her and snapping at her wildly. She let out a muffeled cry, not wanting to shout for help and attract more of them, inching away from the walker as far as she could, looking for something to defend herself with.

Before she knew it, the walker had stopped moving and she felt a hand pull at her hoodie from behind, ripping her out of her hiding. She raised her arms to protect her face and let out another cry. When nothing bit into her she opened her eyes only to meet the gaze of a foul-smelling and bloody Daryl. He smirked at her and knelt down to pick up the suitcase and then walked down the road without a word. She quickly followed.

When they reached the RV, everyone but Rick and Sophia had already gathered, presenting what they'd found. Becka handed Lori the suitcase, who simply raised a brow at her and shrugged. Becka grimaced again, something she had gotten used to over the two days she had spent with them. They weren't about to warm up to her quite yet, she could tell. She reached into the pocket on the front of her hoodie and pulled out the gun, earning a scowl from Lori but a faint smile from Shane, as she handed him the gun.

T-dog was sitting in the shade of the RV, clutching his bloodied arm when Becka approached him carefully. He didn't mind her presence, but as soon as she reached out to him, he inched away, keeping pressure applied with the dirty rag.

Rebecka sighed and glanced around. There was nothing to cover the wound up with, no antibiotics, no nothing. She pulled the hoodie over her head and pouted, ready to part with it. She kept looking around for something to cut it with when Daryl handed her his knife. it was dirty and bloody, but she appriciated the gesture. Cleaning it slightly on the arm of the hoodie, she cut into the fabric and started tearing at it, creating long lines of red cloth. Taking the bottle of water T-dog had beside him, Becka offered her hand to him.

She removed the dirty cloth covering the wound and quickly poured the water over it, washing out what she could, before tightly wrapping her shredded hoodie around the wound.

"Without antibiotics, it will fester." She spoke, using what little was left of the water to clean her hands. Daryl dissapeared for a moment and came back with a bottle of meds, upon reading he lable she looked at him with a smirk which he returned with a shrug. She handed the bottle to T-dog and instructed him to take the pills twice a day for now, until they could get the supplies needed to clean it properly and stitch him up.

Rick returned a few minutes after, alone. He explained what had happened and that Sophia had run off despite him telling her to stay put. Carol broke down in sobs and walked into the RV to keep to herself while the rest of them discussed the best measures to find the little girl. Becka stepped out of the shade into the sun that was still high in the sky and paced back and forth. Rick stepped away from the group and approached her, earning a scowl from his wife who grabbed her son and walked into the RV, to comfort Carol.

"Daryl knows the woods, we're gonna go looking for her." Rick spoke, making Becka stop in her tracks. Turning towards him she folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "I'd like you to come along, incase she's hurt." He continued, smiling faintly. Becka didn't like the way he spoke to her. He sounded like he was about to tear up at any moment and she glanced back at the rest of the group. They were all glaring at Rick and her, obviously not pleased with his leadership.

Becka spoke up, loud enough for them to hear. "I'd love to help, but you don't really want me around, do you?"

Rick shook his head. "It's not.. entirely like that."

But Rebecka understood. She had almost killed them by not telling them what was going down at the CDC. Even if she had, they would have still resented her for convincing the doctor to let them in. Under the groups watchful gaze she walked up to Shane, asking for the gun she found and some rounds of ammo so she could take care of herself. Glenn, Dale and T-dog protested, but noone listened. After being handed what she asked for she walked up to Dale and embraced him. "If it's the last you'll see of me, you best take care old man." He nodded in response and walked into the RV, not wanting to see her cast out on her own.

"Sorry for.. everything. And thanks for getting me out of there alive." she muttered and put the gun in the back of her jeans shorts before turning and walking out to the forest. As soon as she was out of sight of the group she broke down crying. She wished that she had never been convinced by that little girl. She wished that she had died a painless death, instead of having to go out here on her own. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and continued deeper into the forest.

It was surprisingly quiet around her as she very carefully made her way deeped into the woods, sneaking along the trees and keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of danger. From behind her cover in the woods she saw him, Daryl, sitting on the ground with clenched fists, cursing over and over again. She took a step out, now more curious then scared of the usually brute and confident man. With the snap of a twig he raised his crossbow and aimed it towards her, not lowering it despite her raised hands and shocked look on her face.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone you're out here crying."

Daryl snorted and lowered the crossbow. "Does it look like I'm cryin'?"

"A litt-"

"I ain't!"

"Okay." She grinned and lowered her hands to her sides putting her hands in her pockets and walking foward to go past him. When she got closer he took a stand and looked at her, obviously confused by her actions.

"Where ya think ya goin' missy?" He asked and held out his arm to stop her. He looked even more confused when she shrugged her shoulders and walked around him. He turned around and followed her.

"If ya don' know where ya goin', why ya goin'?"

"Overstayed my welcome."

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her walking away. It made no real sense to him, he was allowed to stay, but the half-latina nurse that had saved them at one point wasn't? He grunted and called out to her.

"Girl, ya best stop and turn ya ass 'round."

She glanced over her shoulder and he continued. "They're all jus' a bit tense right now, with the lil' girl runnin' missin'."

"Rick told me t-."

"Don' have to listen' now do ya?"

"But they s-."

"They're mostly idiots."

She groaned and let her hair free from the bun, instead gathering it in a ponytail as she turned towards Daryl. "You don't want me around anyways, throwing your racist crap at me."

"Don't mean I wan' ya to go drop dead." He said and paused as she blinked at him. Feeling like he might have been a bit too nice, he added a sly 'for now' and turned around, waving at her to come close and follow him back.

She decided that it was probably for the best if she listened to him, and gave him a push as she walked past him quickly, following the path back to the highway. When she stuck her head out of the forest she could hear Lori squeel her husbands name and soon enough, they had gathered again. As she had stopped infront of him, Daryl returned the push from earlier and shoved her infront of him and hollered back at the group.

"Ya'll are retarded, I'ma keep the _sexican_ aroun'."

Becka snorted and rolled her eyes at yet another racist slur. She elbowed him in the stomach and he pushed her again, harder this time, making her fall to her knees.

"Told ya girl. I ain' gon' play nice."

He walked away from her with a smirk on his face, walking up the RV and cursing out the group for trying to get rid of someone who could be useful. He shouted that he too had overstayed his welcome, but that they sure as hell never tried kicking his sorry ass out of there, and that Becka shouldn't get pushed aside for what was in the past. Afterall, the fucking half-latina would pull her weight. It was what _border bunnies_ was good at, hard labor.

She groaned as she approached the RV, welcomed by Dale's happy smiling face and T-dogs painful moans from inside. Atleast Daryl had her back this time, she thought and looked over at the redneck heading to his truck for some well-earned rest. They would go out looking for Sophia in the morning, and have a vote on if Rebecka could stay or not. Unsure of where she was staying, she crawled up in the frontseat of the RV and hugged herself close. She couldn't help but miss her hoodie.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Looks like noone really likes having Becka around, 'cept Dale, Glenn and T-dog. I'm not planning on having her on the outside forever, but I think it's best if she slowly gets accepted, rather than instantly get's welcomed and valued as a member of the group. Makes more sense to me. I'm also happy for the views and favorite and follows I've gotten so far, you guys dont need to say a thing, but knowing that someone out there might be enjoying my story makes me happy! I'm writing mostly for myself either way. :)**

Also decided to get T-dog his meds rightaway, instead of waiting til' the morning. If Daryl saved him, why would he hold out on stuff that could make him feel better? Also made sense to me, since Becka's studied to be a nurse - so letting them know it'd fester ASAP would also make sense. I'm somewhat following the episodes, but this if fanfiction, Im allowed to bend and blend a little ;)


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